A man trying to help pay for his infant niece's funeral by selling a prized custom guitar was surprised this week with an outpouring of support from fellow musicians, determined to help the guitarist keep his dream instrument.

Jeremy Brooks recently listed his guitar on a Facebook group devoted to buying, selling and trading Kiesel and Carvin brand gear. He explained that the guitar was "everything [he's] ever wanted in a 7 string" and that he was selling it for $2,000 — well below the near-$3,500 he paid for it.

While the one-of-a-kind instrument sparked plenty of interest, fellow users were determined not to buy it, insisting instead that Brooks start a fundraiser on his family's behalf.

"You know folks, if everyone in the group donated a dollar, we could far exceed the asking price and Jeremy could keep this gorgeous guitar," one user remarked.

Several more users began pledging donations in the comments and Brooks followed up with a link to a GoFundMe page. The description on the page explains that 5-month-old Krystal died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which the Mayo Clinic describes as "the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old." The cause of SIDS is unknown and there is no known way of prevention.

Within two days, the page for Krystal's funeral expenses had already raised more than half of its $2,000 goal on 53 donations. Many comments referenced the thread from the Kiesel group or a blog post on the website Ultimate Guitar.

"[The guitar] is unique to you and cannot be replaced — just like your precious niece who was lost all too soon," read one message.

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